England

Some of My Favorite Touristy Photos From London

Written By: jeff

Posted On: February 20th, 2012

I just got back from a quick trip to London where I had to speak at the Year Our Expo, part of the Active Travel Show. On the good side, the weather was good considering I was in London in January, the show went well and I got to catch up with a lot of old and new friends. On the downside, I didn’t get the chance to explore London very much. Although…there was that unfortunate night when after dinner with friends on Brick Lane, the Overground wasn’t working and I had to figure out quickly how to get back to my hotel across town without a map.

Most of the time when I travel, I’m looking for the angle to go beyond the tourist areas. I want to travel deeper, learn something more profound about a place than X person loved here. But, I actually missed being a tourist in the city. Maybe I was just bummed that I had a deadline and couldn’t spare the time. As with other cities in Europe, London holidays are like a walking history tour. More than anything, all I need to do is hit the streets and walk. I’ve even been known to grab the Hop On-Hop Off bus to get around.

I realized on this last trip that’s probably the best way to do it. This time around, I actually had places to be and addresses to find. No one told me that London wasn’t well signed. I guess I didn’t notice before. With lots of little nooks and crannies and side streets, I found it oh so easy to get lost. At least the first time around, getting lost was part of the fun and adventure. This time around, it induced a bit of stress.